Virgam Dei Dominus
The staff of Augustus Forthwright, this magical object serves as a massive magical storage device. Inside of this staff is countless monsters, stored in stasis until their master calls upon them. Stored Creatures While there are countless creatures stored within this staff, only a few have ever become prevalent enough for people beyond Augustus to know their name. The creatures of the staff have been categorized by Augustus into three Categories. Greater, Major, and Minor. This is based on their general power level and usefulness. A more potent a beast or monster is, the higher it ranks among his summons, and the more rarely he is willing to use them, lest destruction follows. Only one monster in his collection falls outside of these general categories, and that is one secret Augustus has been reluctant to part with. Greater Monsters The strongest of Augustus's servants, greater summons mark among the most powerful beasts and monsters to have ever walked the planet, and almost all of them are capable of using magic to a high degree. Beasts of this level are commonly mistaken for almost deific beings and generally can rip apart S-tier mages and even guild aces to shreds with little effort. Only a mage of Saint tier or higher can reliably fight these beings one on one. *C'Thun - The Deep Maw - A giant undersea beast of titanic proportions, this beast's true form has rarely been seen. Preferring to stay in the depths of the oceans, it's tendrils would spread out for miles in every direction, grabbing any and everything it could shovel into its giant maw. Whales were nothing but snacks for the beast, and every time it moved ship after ship would disappear until its location was figured out once more. While incapable of using magic unlike many of the beasts in the greater tier, it is capable of drawing and ingesting almost anything within its maw. It is also known to make a suction force great enough to drag a ship from the surface to the depths of the ocean in mere minutes. Four Heavenly Beasts The four heavenly beasts are some of Augustus's most prevalent summons, though he rarely has to call them in full form. Whenever he summons part of a beast, more often than not it is one of the four. Each was worshipped as a deity by primitive peoples, and together the four formed a pantheon among the savage tribes to the east of Ishgar. Augustus nearly died a dozen times over subjugating them, but in the end, he reigned supreme over the beasts. *Seiryu - The Azure Wurm of the East - A titanic wurm commonly confused with a dragon and the largest of the four beasts, Seiryu lived far to the east of Ishgar, out in the wild regions east of Pergrande. Seiryu is capable of manipulating the plants around him moulding them to his will even as he is capable of releasing breaths of wooden splinters capable of ripping most beings to shreds. Worshipped by forest-dwelling natives, he was the deity of the harvest, to be worshipped to make sure the harvest was bountiful, and to placate his wrath. *Suzaku - The Vermillion Bird of the South - A great Fenghuang, Suzaku is a titanic beast of raging infernos and burning skies. Capable of releasing torrents of scorching flames, she would raze the countryside as she searched for prey. The people of the planes offered her many sacrifices so she would not burn down the world, praying her wrath away. *Byakko - The White Tiger of the West - By far the smallest of the beasts, and the first one Augustus ran into. Byakko was also the most gentle of the four beasts. A rider of storms and lightning, he stalked through the mountains hunting the goats and beasts that lived there. He was the god of the hunt for the tribes of the mountain, where he rarely caused issues for the local populace even as they prayed to him for successful catches. *Genbu - The Black Tortoise of the North - A great tortoise, Genbu spent most of his time submerged in a giant bay to the north, eating the bounty of the water during the night while he slept in the sun during the day. The locals knew him for the black island that would appear in the bay during the day, and the sweeping tides when he left for the night. A beast with the power to manipulate the water, he was considered a god of fishermen, blessing them for a bountiful catch as all the fish poured in when he left the bay for bigger prey. Major Monsters Major monsters represent the majority of Augustus's combat summons that see regular use as fully summoned creatures. While some can use magic, most are just prime representatives of their species, alphas who dominated the environment around them. Each and everyone has been dominated by Augustus, where they now serve him eternally. Most creatures on this tier can usually fight toe to toe with an average S-Class mage, though they will struggle to beat one. Minor Monsters Most monsters in this tier represent prime specimens of more mundane species, beasts and monsters that while dangerous, could easily be beaten by more notable mages. These creatures tend to range in power, from general wolves who a strong man could take, to giant bears that a normal mage would need their offensive spells to put down.